My Favourite 10 Writing Gadgets
The month of NaNoWriMo is upon us again and before I create a post in which I talk about this year's experience. I thought I'd share some of my top 10 writing gadgets that I use not only to overcome the NaNoWriMo month but some of which I also use on a daily basis as I work on my stories.
1. A good writing program.
I use a combination of Word and Scrivener.
For most of the writing I have done in the past 10 years I have always used Word as my n°1 writing program. It's probably one of the most widely and commonly used programs and is easy to use on top of it. Currently I am using Word to write my entire NaNo month in and am copy pasting the Chapters/Scenes/Sections into Scrivener afterwards. It makes it a little easier to have a clear view on my word count.
Whereas with Scrivener, I only found out about that after my first year of Nano. But since then I am absolutely smitten with it. It's a writing tool that allows me to not only section my story in an easy way but has some extra features that have really improved my writing experience.
It's a little difficult to find your way within the program but once I had it figured out, it has served me well and I can't imagine not using it anymore.
It allows me to have everything I need to write my novel within reach: my manuscript, my character maps and outlines, locations I want to include, and even a map solely dedicated to my research (a map filled with images, music, etc.). It has simply become the representation of what this story looked like inside my brain.
2. Notebooks
This digital age is great but my best ideas often come to me whenever I'm not near my computer.
My bed, the bus, the train (basically all public transport), in a shopping center, during work, in public,....
It is then that a notebook is exactly what you need, even if it's just to quickly write down the general outline. I have filled plenty of notebooks over the years and always try to make sure that I have one in at least every bag that I use. Sure, I could use my phone but I'm often quicker with writing it down in a notebook than I am when typing away on my phone.
Notebooks is the way to go!
3. Music
For the last WIPs I have been writing, I have created playlists on Spotify. These playlists hold songs that I want to include my story or inspire a certain scene.
This current story was all the result of listening to one song. It completely enrolled in front of me as I listened to that one particular song.
Some people can't stand noise when they are working but I have found that I work much better if I have something that inspires me. It's also great to create a certain mood or emotion within yourself that you need for a certain scene.
So music is a definite must-have for me and I've already mentioned Spotify but another one that I turn to often is 8tracks.
4. Awesome mugs that hold my fuel
Let's face it. It's impossible to survive your writing lock-down without a nice cup of (fill in at your own liking). Personally I'm a hot chocolate type of girl. I'll drink tea too but would rarely touch the coffee. It only seems logical that this cup of humanity is provided in a beautiful mug. One of my favourite ones and quite appropriate for the occasion is the one from Blossom Books.
5. Cheat sheets
Sometimes a good cheat sheet is exactly what you need. Whether it's to inspire your emotion descriptions or to upgrade your word variation, they are one of my favourite things to use.
Especially as a non-native English writer I can really appreciate a cheat sheet that informs me about word synonyms etc.
I have my personal collection of cheat sheets in a separate page on my Tumblr page and regularly find myself going there.
6. Timeline
The novel I'm currently writing involves a collection of recent events and flashbacks and I have found that a timeline has really helped me with keeping track of what's happened so far. It also allowed me to have a better insight in which ages my characters has around a certain time and helped in deciding which flashback should go where.
Currently using: Timeline
7. Noise
In close relation to music are the noise generating websites.
Two of my favourites are:
http://www.noisli.com/: which generates noises from a forest noises to a coffeeshop and even allows you to combine several sounds together.
http://coffitivity.com/: Is Starbucks your favourite place to write? Now you can create the same noises from your computer ^^
8. Rewards
A little reward for the good progress your making is an absolute must! I like to reward myself with food (what a shocker, I know) or by playing a quick game.
However if you prefer not to distract yourself with physical rewards and prefer to continue writing until the day is over. I might just have the thing for you.
I used this website two years ago whenever I was approaching a scene I was dreading or was stuck in a scene and didn't want to get back to it. 'Written Kitten' is the place to go for the cat loving author! You get a new kitten picture whenever you have written a certain amount of words. It's absolutely adorable and a much more peaceful alternative than 'Write or Die'.
9. The Internet
As much as they are a source of procrastination they also offer a great source of motivation (and information). Especially during the time of nanowrimo, Tumblr and Twitter are great places to find writing prompts, helpful resources and writing buddies.
Though I haven't been on Tumblr in a very long time, in the last few years that I participated in nano, I have created a page dedicated to great writing posts that I have found on Tumblr.
10. Life
The outside world is a constant source of inspiration. It's a great place to do some people watching and even practice the ways you describe people/actions/etc.
It also helps to go outside and get some fresh air every once and a while, especially when you've been locked up inside for the entire month of November.
Do you have any writing gadgets, any of these that you use?
I'm really curious to hear from you and what you like!
1. A good writing program.
I use a combination of Word and Scrivener.
For most of the writing I have done in the past 10 years I have always used Word as my n°1 writing program. It's probably one of the most widely and commonly used programs and is easy to use on top of it. Currently I am using Word to write my entire NaNo month in and am copy pasting the Chapters/Scenes/Sections into Scrivener afterwards. It makes it a little easier to have a clear view on my word count.
Whereas with Scrivener, I only found out about that after my first year of Nano. But since then I am absolutely smitten with it. It's a writing tool that allows me to not only section my story in an easy way but has some extra features that have really improved my writing experience.
It's a little difficult to find your way within the program but once I had it figured out, it has served me well and I can't imagine not using it anymore.
It allows me to have everything I need to write my novel within reach: my manuscript, my character maps and outlines, locations I want to include, and even a map solely dedicated to my research (a map filled with images, music, etc.). It has simply become the representation of what this story looked like inside my brain.
(okay, my own scrivener file is far from this long yet, but you get the idea)
2. Notebooks
This digital age is great but my best ideas often come to me whenever I'm not near my computer.
My bed, the bus, the train (basically all public transport), in a shopping center, during work, in public,....
It is then that a notebook is exactly what you need, even if it's just to quickly write down the general outline. I have filled plenty of notebooks over the years and always try to make sure that I have one in at least every bag that I use. Sure, I could use my phone but I'm often quicker with writing it down in a notebook than I am when typing away on my phone.
Notebooks is the way to go!
3. Music
For the last WIPs I have been writing, I have created playlists on Spotify. These playlists hold songs that I want to include my story or inspire a certain scene.
This current story was all the result of listening to one song. It completely enrolled in front of me as I listened to that one particular song.
Some people can't stand noise when they are working but I have found that I work much better if I have something that inspires me. It's also great to create a certain mood or emotion within yourself that you need for a certain scene.
So music is a definite must-have for me and I've already mentioned Spotify but another one that I turn to often is 8tracks.
4. Awesome mugs that hold my fuel
Let's face it. It's impossible to survive your writing lock-down without a nice cup of (fill in at your own liking). Personally I'm a hot chocolate type of girl. I'll drink tea too but would rarely touch the coffee. It only seems logical that this cup of humanity is provided in a beautiful mug. One of my favourite ones and quite appropriate for the occasion is the one from Blossom Books.
5. Cheat sheets
Sometimes a good cheat sheet is exactly what you need. Whether it's to inspire your emotion descriptions or to upgrade your word variation, they are one of my favourite things to use.
Especially as a non-native English writer I can really appreciate a cheat sheet that informs me about word synonyms etc.
I have my personal collection of cheat sheets in a separate page on my Tumblr page and regularly find myself going there.
6. Timeline
The novel I'm currently writing involves a collection of recent events and flashbacks and I have found that a timeline has really helped me with keeping track of what's happened so far. It also allowed me to have a better insight in which ages my characters has around a certain time and helped in deciding which flashback should go where.
Currently using: Timeline
7. Noise
In close relation to music are the noise generating websites.
Two of my favourites are:
http://www.noisli.com/: which generates noises from a forest noises to a coffeeshop and even allows you to combine several sounds together.
http://coffitivity.com/: Is Starbucks your favourite place to write? Now you can create the same noises from your computer ^^
8. Rewards
A little reward for the good progress your making is an absolute must! I like to reward myself with food (what a shocker, I know) or by playing a quick game.
However if you prefer not to distract yourself with physical rewards and prefer to continue writing until the day is over. I might just have the thing for you.
I used this website two years ago whenever I was approaching a scene I was dreading or was stuck in a scene and didn't want to get back to it. 'Written Kitten' is the place to go for the cat loving author! You get a new kitten picture whenever you have written a certain amount of words. It's absolutely adorable and a much more peaceful alternative than 'Write or Die'.
(let's face it, who wouldn't want to be rewarded with a kitten?)
9. The Internet
As much as they are a source of procrastination they also offer a great source of motivation (and information). Especially during the time of nanowrimo, Tumblr and Twitter are great places to find writing prompts, helpful resources and writing buddies.
Though I haven't been on Tumblr in a very long time, in the last few years that I participated in nano, I have created a page dedicated to great writing posts that I have found on Tumblr.
10. Life
The outside world is a constant source of inspiration. It's a great place to do some people watching and even practice the ways you describe people/actions/etc.
It also helps to go outside and get some fresh air every once and a while, especially when you've been locked up inside for the entire month of November.
Do you have any writing gadgets, any of these that you use?
I'm really curious to hear from you and what you like!
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